National Labor Relations Board v. George D. Auchter Co.

209 F.2d 273, 33 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2386, 1954 U.S. App. LEXIS 3718
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedJanuary 15, 1954
Docket14537
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 209 F.2d 273 (National Labor Relations Board v. George D. Auchter Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
National Labor Relations Board v. George D. Auchter Co., 209 F.2d 273, 33 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2386, 1954 U.S. App. LEXIS 3718 (5th Cir. 1954).

Opinion

RUSSELL, Circuit Judge.

mu „ The three respondents, George D. . , , n ,T j. Jf, •, Auchter Company, Northeastern Florida , j, ,, . . , , Chapter of the Associated Contractors - A . „ , _. . . , of America and Carpenters District „ T , ... . TT. . Council of Jacksonville and Vicinity, , . „ , , ,. , hereinafter referred to respectively as A a n rt , -7 Auchter, A. G. C. and Council, were each , . ... , . „ . ,. charged with certain unfair labor prac- ,. ,. . T . tices violative of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, 29 U.S.C.A. § 161 et seq. The Label Board sustained these charges and entered an or-tier 1 which it now asks this court to enforce.

A. G. C. is a local, loosely knit association of general contractors, of which Auchter is a member. Council, an afiili *275 ate of United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, is a local autonomous labor organization whose membership is composed of eight locals of United Brotherhood within the Jacksonville area. On September 27, 1950, A. G. C. and Council entered into an agreement whieh, after reciting that A. G. C. wished to employ qualified workmen and that Council maintained an employment service and had available an ample supply of skilled workmen, contained the following provision, sometimes hereinafter referred to as the “first opportunity clause”:

“Now, Therefore, the Contractors do agree to give the Local the first opportunity to supply their skilled mechanics for carpentry work provided that if such labor requirements are not supplied within forty-eight (48) hours after request, or if the men furnished on request are not qualified to perform their duties in the opinion of the Contractors, then the Contractors shall _ be free to obtain their labor requirements ot erwise.

The members associated with A. G. C. were not individually bound by this agreement as it was understood that it would be binding only upon such members who accepted and ratified it. Auch-ter did accept and ratify the agreement and considered itself bound by it. The agreement contained no provision as to its duration, and, insofar as it appears from the record, it was in force and effect on October 25, 1950, and thereafter at all times pertinent to this controversy.

G. W. Kirby was a member of Carpenters Local No. 1778, Columbia, South Carolina, and was also a member of the International Association of Machinists, He had been employed by Auchter as a millwright, but had not become a member of any of the local labor organizations represented by Council. He voluntarily left this job in July, 1950. Though he thereafter made application for re-employment, Auchter, while desiring his services, refused employment because Kirby could not secure a “referral” or clearance from the Council,

The controlling questions presented' here are whether there is adequate support in the evidence for the Board’s findjng that the charges were timely filed; that the A. G. C. and Council agreement 0f September 27, 1950, as understood and enforced by the nominal parties thereto and Auchter, was an illegal union-security agreement, the maintenance' and enforcement of which constituted,, as to Auchter and the A. G. C. a violation of Section 8(a) (3) and (1) of the Act, and as to the Council a violation of Section 8(b) (2) and (1) (A) 2 of the Act, and whether, as a result of such agreement and the employment practices under it, there was discrimination against Kirby. The evidence before us requires an affirmative answer to. each of these questions.

The original charges were ffled Aprü 23 1951 and served upon Cotmcil and Auchter on April 25th and 26th> re_ spectively. The important date is that. 0f a meeting between Kirby and A. A. Pittman, business representative of Council, in which Kirby sought a job referral so that he could go back to WOrk for Auchter. Pittman refused to grant the request for the reason that Kirby was a member of both the carpenters union and the machinists union, There was a dispute as to whether this meeting was October 23rd, as testified by Pittman, or October 25th, as testified by Kirby. Kirby’s testimony is corroborated by other evidence tending to establish this as the correct date. The crediting of this evidence by the trial examiner, accepted by the Board, finds substantial support in the record. For this reason, we overrule respondents” contention as to the jurisdiction of the Board to issue a complaint,

Actually, at the time of this denial, it was not the practice of Council to issue job referrals to applicants, but it was *276 necessary for a member of a foreign local to secure clearance from Council before one of the constituent locals would issue a job referral to him. Pittman made it clear to Kirby that so long as he persisted in retaining his membership in the machinists union the services of Council would not be available to him. Notwithstanding this, Kirby went to the job where Auchter was engaged and, telling the superintendent, Sides, of his conversation with Pittman, asked the superintendent to give him employment on his machinists card. The superintendent stated that he would like to have Kirby but he was afraid that if he hired him on his machinists card there would be trouble with the carpenters local union and that all of the men would be pulled off of the job. He acknowledged that he had requested Pittman to send Kirby over. Pittman testified that Sides called him.a few days later and told him that Kirby had applied to him for a job as a millwright. During that conversation he told Sides that Kirby was not eligible for employment because he had not produced the proper credentials, Several further attempts were made by Kirby to either secure a clearance from Council or to obtain employment from Auchter without a clearance. All of these attempts were futile for Auchter would not employ him without a clearance and Council would not give him a clearance as long as he retained his machinists card.

, „ , , In an effort to Justify this action, Cpuncil contends that Kirby never presented evidence that he was a paid-up member of a foreign local and furthermore that Pittman was without authority to refer an applicant to a place of employment. Auchter contends that Kirby never applied to it for a job as a millwright, but only sought to be employed as a machinist for which no jobs were available. The evidence leaves no doubt that Pittman knew that Kirby was a member of a foreign carpenters local. The question of Kirby's credentials was never discussed during the several conferences Pittman had with Kirby. The only reason Pittman ever gave Kirby for refusing him a job referral was his dual union membership. Without clearance from Council, Kirby was not eligible for a job referral from any of the constituent locals. There was never any misunderstanding between these two men as to what Kirby wanted or as to the reason Council refused to clear him for a job. It is equally clear that Aueh-ter had a job available for Kirby but denied him employment solely because he was unable to secure a clearance from Council.

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209 F.2d 273, 33 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2386, 1954 U.S. App. LEXIS 3718, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/national-labor-relations-board-v-george-d-auchter-co-ca5-1954.